CITY TRIBUNE
Garda progress in feud saga
GARDAÍ investigating two separate feuds – ongoing in the city for the past few months – arrested two people on Wednesday in relation to a ‘confrontation’ that occurred in the Newcastle area last week.
The Galway City Tribune has learned that a father and son were arrested by Gardaí in relation to alleged assaults and criminal damage on Monday evening last week in the Cluainín Estate, Inishannagh Park.
Both men are expected to appear in court in relation to the incidents which involved a group of up to ten people around 7pm on Monday week last.
In the row which developed, a number of men received minor injuries before Gardaí arrived on the scene and broke up the melee.
It is understood that in the aftermath of the row – which began after a group of men drove into the estate – a number of complaints of alleged assaults were made to the Gardaí.
The latest incident is understood to be related to a long-running feud between two extended family groups in the city which has been the subject of mediation efforts, both in the city area and in Tuam, over recent weeks.
There had been a ‘lull’ in this dispute since Christmas until this latest incident erupted and Gardaí have appealed for any witnesses or anyone with information on Monday night’s fracas to make contact with them at Galway Garda Station, Mill Street, 091-538000 or the Garda Confidential Telephone Line on 1800-666-111.
Meanwhile in a separate feud involving two family groups, Gardaí are investigating an attempt to set fire to a pick-up truck at the Radharc na Gréine Estate on the old Monivea Road.
A front window of the vehicle was smashed, an accelerant was poured on the front sides, and was then set on fire – however the owners of the vehicle managed to put out the fire before any serious damage was done to the vehicle.
Gardaí who arrested three people shortly after a serious arson attack on a house in Castle Park in the early hours of February 3 last are confident that court proceedings will follow.
The three from the Greater Dublin area – two men in their twenties and a juvenile – were questioned last Friday at the Murrough Garda HQ under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
They were subsequently released without being charged with files now being forwarded to the DPP in relation to alleged criminal damage and arson offences.
Gardaí are also understood to be pursuing a definite line of inquiry in relation to a fourth man who was involved in the Castle Park house burning incident.
The family in the house at Castle Park – a mother and her three children, two of them adults and one juvenile – escaped via the back of their house after the front window and door were smashed in around 2am.
The attackers – possibly up to four men – doused the front room of the house with an accelerant, probably petrol, before setting it alight.
Units of Galway Fire Brigade, Gardaí and the ambulance service were at the scene shortly afterwards after the four people in the house – who were asleep upstairs at the time – escaped via a shed roof at the back of the property.
The residents were taken to University Hospital Galway for treatment for smoke inhalation – they are all understood to have been released the following day.
Another arson attack took place on Sunday night, February 6, close to another house in the Castle Park area, where a Ford Mondeo car was burnt out by two men who sped away from the scene at high speed.
The attackers also broke a front window of the house, but this time did not attempt to burn it down – Gardaí have appealed for anyone with dash cam footage or any witnesses who were in the Castle Park area on Sunday night last around 11.30pm to make contact with them. (091-538000) or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800-666-111.
An ongoing feud between two gangs is thought to be behind the latest arson attacks – some of the gang members are also understood to have connections with local and national illegal drugs movements.
On January 30 last, an Audi A6 car was set alight in the Garran Ard estate in Doughiska while the attackers also attempted to set fire to the house beside where the car was parked.
The front door of the house and a rooftop Velux window were doused with fuel before being set alight – the front door of the house and the window were damaged in the incident.
Garda Detective Superintendent, Shane Cummins, has made a renewed appeal for assistance in trying to bring to an end the series of arson attacks – and a car ramming incident that occurred before Christmas at Bothar na dTreabh.
“These are acts of reckless endangerment where a real threat to human life is involved. We are devoting major resources into our investigations of these incidents; we have made a number of arrests; and we are pursuing a number of further lines of inquiry.
“In addition to that we have increased Garda patrols in certain areas of the city and we are appealing for anyone who notices any suspicious activity or who may information or dash cam footage that could be of assistance to us, to make contact with any Garda they know or any Garda station,” said Det. Supt. Cummins.
Meanwhile, in what could be a third such feud in the Galway area, Gardaí in Loughrea, have confirmed an arson attack on a house in the town, where the front window was broken, petrol was poured inside the front room of the house and it was then set alight.
The incident occurred at around 6am on Thursday morning with the family in the house – including a number of young children – making their escape, via the back door of the residence.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
The new Salmon Weir pedestrian and cycle bridge will be officially opened to the public next Friday, May 26.
Work on the €10 million bridge got underway in April 2022, before the main structure was hoisted into place in early December.
A lunchtime tape-cutting ceremony will take place on Friday, as the first pedestrians and cyclists traverse the as-yet-unnamed bridge.
The Chief Executive of Galway City Council, Brendan McGrath, previously said the bridge, once opened, would remove existing conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists and traffic “as well as facilitating the Cross-City Link public transport corridor over the existing 200-year-old bridge”.
The naming of the new bridge has been under discussion by the Council’s Civic Commemorations Committee since late last year.
One name that has been in the mix for some time is that of the first woman in Europe to graduate with an engineering degree – Alice Perry.
Ms Perry, who was from Wellpark, graduated from Queen’s College Galway (now University of Galway) in 1906. The university’s engineering building is named in her honour.
The bridge was built by Jons Civil Engineering firm in County Meath and was assembled off-site before being transported to Galway. Funding for the project was provided in full by the National Transport Authority and the European Regional Development Fund.
(Photo: Sheila Gallagher captured the city’s new pedestrian footbridge being raised on the south side of the Salmon Weir Bridge in December. It will officially open next Friday, May 26).
From the Galway City Tribune – Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, Kieran O’Donnell was labelled a “disgrace” for overturning councillors’ decisions to rezone land in the new City Development Plan.
Minister O’Donnell (pictured) confirmed in a letter to Council Chief Executive Brendan McGrath last week that he was reversing 25 material alternations made by councillors to the CDP 2023-29. He made the decision on the advice of Office of Planning Regulator (OPR).
Minister O’Donnell directed that 14 land parcels that were subject to land-use zoning changes by councillors as part of the Material Alterations to the Draft CDP should be reversed.
He directed that a further 11 land parcels in the city should become “unzoned”.
The Minister found that the CDP had not been made in a manner consistent with recommendations of the OPR, which required specific changes to the plan to ensure consistency with the national planning laws and guidelines.
At last week’s Council meeting Cllr Eddie Hoare (FG) asked for clarity on the process by which councillors could rezone the lands that had been changed by the Minister’s direction.
Cllr Declan McDonnell said, “What he [Minister O’Donnell] has done is an absolute disgrace”.
And he asked: “Do we have to have another development plan meeting to deal with it?”
Both Cllrs Hoare and McDonnell wondered what would become of the lands that were rezoned or unzoned by the ministerial direction.
Mr McGrath said the Council had put forward an argument in favour of retaining the material alterations in the plan, but ultimately the Minister sided with OPR.
He said if councillors want to make alterations to the new plan, they could go through the process of making a material alteration but this was lengthy.
The Save Roscam Peninsula campaign welcomed the Minister’s decision.
In a statement to the Galway City Tribune, it said the direction would mean the Roscam village area on the Roscam Peninsula will be unzoned and a number of land parcels would revert back to agriculture/high amenity.
A spokesperson for the campaign said: “the material alterations made by city councillors following lobbying by developers continued the long-standing practice of councillors facilitating a developer-led plan rather than an evidence- and policy-based plan that meets the needs of the city.
“The Minister’s direction is an important step in restoring confidence in the planning system. It is clear from the City Council’s own evidence on future housing projections that there was no requirement to zone these lands for residential purposes in order to meet the needs of the targeted population increase up to 2029,” the spokesperson added.
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